Sixty-Seven Years Ago Today: Chamberlain and Russell's First-Ever Meeting
A seminal moment in NBA history occurred on this date, Nov. 7, 67 years ago, when Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell faced each other for the first time on Nov. 7, 1959.
During their careers, the pair formed the league’s greatest individual rivalry. But before forty-nine playoff matchups, a 1967 Eastern Division Final where the Chamberlain-led Philadelphia 76ers defeated Russell’s Boston Celtics in five games, and before the 1969 Finals where Russell, as player-coach, bested Chamberlain, West, and Baylor in one of the all-time upsets, came their first meeting at the old Boston Garden.
The Celtics were 5-0 (they ended up finishing 59-16), while Chamberlain’s Warriors were 3-0 (finished 49-26). The Celtics emerged with the 115-106 win, and Chamberlain and Russell battled in what was the preview to the next 10 years’ feature film.
On this night in Boston, both played 48 minutes, which was Chamberlain’s custom throughout his career. He made 12-of-38 field goals and shot 6-of-12 from the free-throw line for 30 points and grabbed 28 rebounds. Paul Arizin, a Hall of Fame teammate (inducted in 1978) of Chamberlain’s, scored 29 points in the game (11-of-24, 7-of-9) and had 12 rebounds. Woody Sauldsberry, a one-time all-star (1959) and the NBA's 1957-58 Rookie of the Year, grabbed 13 rebounds for the Warriors. On the Celtics’ side, Russell shot 7-of-19, made all eight of his free-throw attempts, and finished with 22 points and 35 rebounds. Guard Bill Sharman finished with 25 points (11-of-24), while point maestro Bob Cousy scored 24 and dished out 11 assists. Guard Frank Ramsay scored 17, and guard Sam Jones 16. Forward Tommy Heinsohn had a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds.
The Warriors went 5-6 that against the Celtics in the 1959-60 regular season. Chamberlain was MVP and Rookie of the Year in what is considered the greatest inaugural campaign in league history - 37.6 points per game and 27.0 rebounds per game while leading the league in minutes per game (46.4), field-goals per game (14.8), field-goals attempted (32.1) per game, and free-throws attempted (13.8) per game. Russell, who was in his fourth NBA season, was second in MVP voting to Chamberlain. He finished with averages of 18.2 points and 24.0 rebounds per game in 42.5 minutes per game.
In the 1960 playoffs, the teams met in the Eastern Division Finals, and the Celtics prevailed in six games. Russell averaged 20.7 points and 27.0 rebounds per game in 42.8 minutes per game. Chamberlain bested him in those categories with 30.5 points and 27.5 rebounds per game in 45.5 minutes per game. In Game 1, Chamberlain had 42 points. In Game 3, Russell had 26 points and extracted 39 rebounds. In Game 5, Chamberlain went for 50 points and 35 rebounds. Russell went on to win his third championship, as the Celtics defeated Bob Pettit’s St. Louis Hawks in seven games in the Finals. Chamberlain had to wait until 1967 for his first championship triumph.
Wilt and Russell. The two titans of the NBA. Offensively, Wilt is the standard by which all are measured. Defensively, that is Russell. Check out NBA offensive records and your best wager is that Chamberlain's name occupies the first two spots, or three. Or three of the top five. You get the picture. Russell's quarterback-like command of the defensive end of the floor remains unrivaled. He was the adhesive that held 11 championship teams together in Boston. No one, across sports, has won like him. Both were outstanding track athletes. Both decades ahead of their time. The beginning of the NBA’s greatest individual rivalry.
It all started 67 years ago.
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